Helena Osborne, 28, invests in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and bonds and has a rapidly growing share portfolio in Australian and international markets. She represents the growing cohort of Millennials (aged 28 to 43) who are increasingly investing their money as the dream of paying for a home deposit from a savings account slowly dwindles away.

“You’ve got a generation of people who are saying housing is the first thing that my parents have told me to buy. But when I look at it, I can’t do the numbers because I’ve got the student debt that my parents also didn’t have, and I’m really struggling. How am I going to do it?” Osborne says.

“Housing has become less approachable, less affordable, whereas investment has given me the opportunity to get ahead of my finances.”

Millennials make up nearly half of all investors on the Australian sharemarket, according to the ASX. Recent research from BetaShares Direct, based on data from 52,000 homes, shows that Millennials and Gen Xers (aged 44 to 59) had the most capacity to invest, based on an analysis of spare cashflow.

According to the data, on average, Millennials had $24,500 ready for investment and Gen Xers had $31,700. The survey found these generations also had a strong interest in investing, especially among those with higher incomes. Baby Boomers, on the other hand, had $12,500 ready to invest, the survey said.

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Millennials are also changing the way they use money. A Commonwealth Bank survey from 2021 found 43 per cent of Millennials were investing their money instead of spending.

Millennials are also the most active property investors, a different CBA report says. The generation represents nearly half of all new property investors in 2023. Gen X accounted for 37 per cent of investment property purchases in the same year.

Investing was overwhelmingly becoming the option Millennials were opting for to ensure financial stability before retirement, said chief executive of ETF platform BetaShares, Alex Vynokur.